THE SPORTSMAN IN FRANCE. 307 



Some years will elapse before French- 

 men will become good field shots and 

 general sportsmen ; their taste for racing 

 is decidedly on the rise, and they are 

 enthusiastic admirers of that break-neck 

 pastime steeple-chasing; but, generally 

 speaking, they are not fond of manly out- 

 of-door amusements. The game of cricket, 

 for instance, is a perfect riddle to them. 



We got up a tolerably good match be- 

 hind the Hotel Royal, on the beach, at 

 Dieppe, for the amusement of the Duchesse 

 de Berri, in the year 1829. We mustered, 

 with some difficulty, two elevens; the 

 bowlers pitched their balls with scientific 

 precision; the batters defended their 

 wickets with great skill ; short and long 

 stops were on the alert ; in fact, all the 

 performers acquitted themselves most 

 admirably. 



As soon as the first innings were over, 

 one of the party, who had been most active 



